Content management in Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2012 provides the tools for you to manage content files for applications, software updates, and operating system deployment. Review the information in this topic to help you plan how to manage content in your Configuration Manager 2012 hierarchy.
Prerequisites for Content Management
There are number of dependencies and supported configurations that must be considered before you can manage content in Configuration Manager 2012.
General Dependencies for Content Management
The following table lists content management dependencies.
| Dependency | More Information | ||
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Distribution points |
Before content files can be sent to devices, at least one distribution point must be configured for the Configuration Manager 2012 site. |
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Distribution point groups |
Although distribution point groups are not required, they allow you to manage content files on a logical grouping of distribution points. For example, you can distribute content to a distribution point group and all distribution points that are members of the distribution point group will receive the content. |
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Package Access Accounts |
Package Access Accounts enable you to set NTFS permissions to specify the users and user groups that can access a package folder on a distribution point to download content files. By default, Configuration Manager grants access only to the generic access accounts Users and Administrators. In most cases, the default settings will be sufficient. |
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Internet Information Services (IIS) |
IIS must be installed on all servers that host a distribution point. When you install a distribution point, Configuration Manager 2012 will install and configure IIS if it is not installed. If IIS is already installed, Configuration Manager will configure it to support required operations. Configuration Manager will not change settings that have been configured as part of an IIS template.
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Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) |
All distribution points require BITS. Using BITS helps control bandwidth throttling between client devices and distribution points. Also, when a device is downloading content from a distribution point and is interrupted, it can resume the download where it left off, even if the client device connects to a different distribution point. |
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Certificate for authentication |
When you add the distribution point site role to a server, you must specify a certificate that authenticates the distribution point to management points and that computers use when you deploy an operating system by using PXE. Configuration Manager can create a self-signed certificate or you can import a PKI certificate, which contains client authentication capability and the private key. |
Supported Configurations for Distribution Points
Having one site system function as a distribution point for multiple Configuration Manager 2012 sites is not supported. Placing the distribution point role on a site system in a different forest from the site server is supported, but there must be a full two-way trust between the forests.
The distribution point site role can be installed on computers running server or client operating systems. The following table provides a list of the supported operating systems.
| Operating System | Service Pack | System Architecture | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|
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Windows Server 2008 R2 |
X64 |
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Windows Server 2008 |
SP2 |
X86 or X64 |
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Windows Server 2003 |
SP2 |
X86 or x64 |
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Windows 7 |
X86 or x64 |
Secondary sites cannot be installed on this operating system. |
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Windows Vista |
SP2 |
X86 or x64 |
Secondary sites cannot be installed on this operating system. |
Plan for Distribution Points
When planning for distribution points in your hierarchy you should determine what distribution point attributes you need in your environment, how to distribute the network and system load on the distribution point, and determine the distribution point infrastructure.
Distribution Point Configurations
Distribution points can have a number of different configurations. The following table describes the possible configurations.
| Distribution Point Configuration | Descriptions | ||
|---|---|---|---|
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Protected distribution point |
Distribution point can be assigned with a boundary group. The distribution point is considered protected for the clients that are on the boundaries that are associated with the boundary group. During a content deployment, only the clients that are in an assigned boundary group can use the distribution point as a content location source. You can allow clients not in the assigned boundary groups to use the distribution point if another distribution point is not available to the client. |
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PXE |
Enable the PXE attribute on the distribution point to enable operating system deployment for Configuration Manager 2012 clients. The PXE attribute must be configured to respond to PXE boot requests made by Configuration Manager 2012 clients on the network and then interact with Configuration Manager 2012 infrastructure to determine the appropriate installation actions to take.
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Multicast |
Enable the multicast attribute on the distribution point to use multicast when you distribute operating systems.
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Support for mobile devices |
You must configure the distribution point to accept HTTPS communication from mobile devices. |
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Support for internet-based clients |
You must configure the distribution point to accept HTTPS communication from internet-based client devices. |
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Application Virtualization |
Although there are no configuration requirements for the distribution point to allow streaming of virtual applications to software distribution clients, there are Application Management prerequisites that you should consider. For more information, see Prerequisites for Application Management in Configuration Manager 2012. |
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ImportantNetwork Bandwidth Considerations for Distribution Points
To help you plan for the distribution point infrastructure in your hierarchy, you should understand the network bandwidth used for the content management process and what you can do to reduce the network bandwidth used in certain scenarios.
When you distribute content, the files are copied from the source path to the site server, and then to the distribution points. When content source files are updated, and the source files have already been distributed, Configuration Manager 2012 retrieves only the new or updated files, and then sends them to the distribution point. Bandwidth controls can be configured for site-to-site communication and for communication between a site server and a remote distribution point. When network bandwidth limited between the site server and distribution point, you can prestage the content on the distribution point. For more information about prestaging content files, see .
Determine the Distribution Point Infrastructure
At least one distribution point is required at each site in the Configuration Manager 2012 hierarchy. By default, a primary site server is configured as a distribution point. However, you should assign this role to a remote site system and remove it from the site server if possible. This reduces the resource requirements and improves performance on the site server, and also assists in load balancing. The distribution point site system role is automatically configured on the secondary site server when it is installed. However, the distribution point site system role in not required at secondary sites. Clients will use distribution points at the parent primary site if one is not available on the secondary site.
The number of distribution points that you install in a site depends on the number of clients that might access the distribution point, the configuration of the distribution point, such as PXE and multicast, and the network bandwidth between the site server and distribution point, and devices and distribution points.
Plan for Distribution Point Groups
Distribution point groups provide a logical grouping of distribution points for content distribution. When you distribute content to a distribution point group, all distribution points that are members of the distribution point group receive the content. If you add a distribution point to the distribution point group after an initial content distribution, the content is automatically distributed to the new distribution point member.
You can also add a collection to distribution point groups, which creates an association, and then distribute content to the collection. When you distribute content to a collection, the content is distributed to all distribution points that are members of distribution point groups that are associated with the collection. There are no restrictions on the number of distribution point groups that can be associated with a collection or the number of collections that can be associated with a distribution point group. If you add a collection to a distribution point group, the distribution point group does not automatically receive content previously distributed to the associated collection. However, the distribution point group will receive all new content that is distributed to the collection.
.gif) Note |
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| After you distribute content to a collection, and then associate the collection to a new distribution point group, you must redistribute the content to the collection before the content will be distributed to the new distribution point group. |